At first, Great Britain was the centre of development; in 1819, the first steamship crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took place and by 1833, shipping lines had begun to operate steamships between Britain and British Empire possessions such as India and Canada. Three major British shipping lines were founded in the 1830s: the British and American Steam Navigation Company, the Great Western Steamship Company and the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company. American shipping The United States federal government passed the Shipping Act of 1916 as a protection agency for American shipping. The act, passed during World War I but before the nation officially entered the war, helped American shipping lines during a period when commercial shipping grew under the demands of the war. Under this act, the United States Shipping Board was also formed. In 1920, after the end of World War I, the federal government passed the Merchant Marine Act to protect American shipping interests in response to changing foreign shipping policy. The responsibilities established under the Shipping Act were eventually transferred to the Department of Commerce in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Federal Maritime Commission was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to regulate shipping activity in the United States, finally giving blanket authority to one shipping commission. At the same time, the United States Maritime Administration, or MARAD, was founded to regulate the merchant marine industry and fleet. However, a sharp rise in international ocean trade gave the two agencies expanded power in the growing maritime industry. See also List of ship companies Maritime transport Shipping portal World Shipping Council References Maritime transport